By: Emily Beaver

If you dozed off during the endless debate over health care reform, it's time to perk up. Members of Congress are planning to make a decision on a health reform bill this week.

So what's happening now? After political changes in January stalled Democrats' efforts to overhaul our health care system, President Obama stepped in. After February's televised health care summit, Obama said it was time for Congress to stop the endless debate on health care reform and take action. Democrats are worried that if they don't pass a health reform bill soon, reform will lose momentum as members of Congress break for Easter recess.

Obama has gone on the road to push for health reform, making his first stop at Arcadia University to rally support for reform. The Democratic party's leadership is counting votes (they need 216 votes in the House and 51 in the Senate to pass reform) and trying to convince members of their party who haven't agreed to vote for reform. Obama even took Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic Congressman from Ohio, for a ride on Air Force One to persuade him to vote for the health care reform. Republicans are mounting their own campaign to get lawmakers to vote against healthcare reform. Interest groups are dropping millions on advertisements to pressure lawmakers into voting against (or for) the bill.

While this is a big moment for health care reform, what actually happens in Congress this week may not be dramatic. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that members of the House of Representatives may try to approve the bill without technically voting on it, using a legislative tactic called the "self-executing rule." If Congress passes reform, the way Americans access and pay for health care could change drastically. But this isn't our country's first attempt at changing our health care system. If Democrats can't get the votes they need --or find another legislative maneuver to pass reform--it's quite possible that we'll still have the same health care system we've been complaining about for years.

At times, the health reform debate has reminded me of the noise a refrigerator makes -- after a while, you get so used to the monotonous hum in the background you automatically tune it out. If Congress doesn't pass reform now, the health care debate won't vanish. It will just keep humming in the background.